Response by Northern Ireland Women’s European Platform

Northern Ireland Women’s European Platform welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Draft Budget 2008-2011 ‘Building a Better Future.’

Overview

On a quick check through the document no where does it mention gender, women or equality which is not reflective of the Programme for Government aims and priorities. 

‘Sound’ policy is to defeat inflation for instance, which had led to increase interest rates which have led to increase unemployment and this contributes to continuing poverty, which are mostly women.

Economic Growth does require measures such as employment creation, yet when viewed from a gender equality perspective ‘full’ employment does not take account of the unpaid work of most women.  Lower income women still face many care responsibilities that compromise their ability to seek full employment in the formal labour market, a fact that is reflected in their higher concentration in part-time jobs.

Since poverty affects more women, cutbacks in the social infrastructure due to the ‘fiscal squeeze’ have significant implications for gender equality.  With cuts in public spending to achieve fiscal balance has affected women disproportionately partly because of the unpaid work they perform in caring for the children and the sick and other unpaid work at home and in the informal sectors.[1]

Gender Equality and Empowerment

Gender equality and the empowerment of women receive limited attention in this budget.  Key systematic issues for gender equality and women’s empowerment should include:

·        Bolstering resources and political representation for women in economic governance regimes

·        Incorporating the care economy and informal social provision in financing for development dialogues and planning

·        Incorporating the Paris Declaration[2] which offers an opportunity to advance a new and integrative agenda that embeds gender equality in its monitoring, review and evaluation processes.

International Commitment

There does not seem to be any international commitment to gender equality in this budget which includes:

·        Supporting women’s rights to equality in (paid) work, on equal terms with men (CEDAW Article 11)[3] – example includes:

1.    equal pay and better conditions for part-time workers

·        Women should not suffer disproportionately if a budget deficit is reduced by cutting the level of public expenditure (CEDAW Article 2) – examples include:

1.    health issues such as breast / cervical screening

2.    reproductive rights,

3.    mother and child facilities in hospitals

·        Fully developing and advancing of women, taking into account women’s unpaid work, as well as women’s paid work (CEDAW Article 2; CEDAW General Recommendation 17) examples include:

1.    supporting older women as unpaid ‘childminders’;

2.    strengthening women’s organisations which promote development and advancement;

3.    positive action to increase women’s participation in decision-making roles

4.      Recognising the role of female migrants in remittances and enforcing protection of female migrant right such as the minimum wage